Sen. Tim Scott fired back at a critic on Wednesday who said the senator received a prominent place at the GOP tax reform celebration because of his skin color.
Andy Ostroy, a self-identified Huffington Post contributor, compared Mr. Scott to a “manipulated prop” and suggested he was placed next to the podium because he is black.
What a shocker… there’s ONE black person there and sure enough they have him standing right next to the mic like a manipulated prop. Way to go @SenatorTimScott. #trump #taxscambill
— Andy Ostroy (@AndyOstroy) December 20, 2017
Mr. Scott is a member of the House-Senate Tax Reform Conference Committee charged with ironing out the differences between the tax reform bills that made it through each house. He’s also on the Senate Finance Committee that passed the Senate version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Nov. 16.
Uh probably because I helped write the bill for the past year, have multiple provisions included, got multiple Senators on board over the last week and have worked on tax reform my entire time in Congress. But if you’d rather just see my skin color, pls feel free. https://t.co/KLLNXqIZ3i
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) December 20, 2017
Mr. Scott became emotional during his remarks at Wednesday’s press conference, pointing to the benefits the bill includes for single mothers and working-class Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck.
“Let me say to those Americans who are watching this process, this is not about Washington,” Mr. Scott said. “It’s not about the left. It’s not about the right. It’s about single-parent moms who are looking for a reason to be hopeful in 2018. This tax reform plan delivers for the average single mother a 70 percent tax cut.”
President Trump praised him as a “very, very special man” and said his contributions were invaluable to the passage of the tax bill.
But other users on social media also said Mr. Scott’s placement at the press conference was not merited.
Emily C. Singer, a senior writer for Mic, suggested that Mr. Scott’s skin color was the deciding factor.
I wonder why he’s so conspicuously placed directly up front in a sea of white men pic.twitter.com/CwusRXKBcE
— Emily C. Singer (@CahnEmily) December 20, 2017
Michael C. Fox, who lists himself as a photographer and editor at Al Jazeera Network, concurred.
Did Rep.Tim Scott pay for that spot or was he planted there! pic.twitter.com/FRopVAQNA0
— Michael C. Fox (@MichaelCFox2) December 20, 2017
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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